US: Somalia strike kills large number of extremists

A US airstrike in Somalia was targeting an al-Qaida cell wanted for two 1998 US Embassy bombings and killed large numbers of Islamic extremists, government officials said today.

The attacks, from a heavily-armed AC-130 gunship, came after the terror suspects were spotted hiding on a remote island on the southern tip of Somalia close to the Kenyan border, Somali officials said.